Author Interview Series: Interview with Adiana Ray

Adiana enjoys reading murder mysteries, classic romances and playing Pictionary (the noisier the better). She believes in the Zen tenet ‘each state has a 1000 truths’. Every person brings their own unique experiences to a situation, which makes them see things differently and interpret it in their own way.

Couple this with the winds of change that are sweeping across the Indian sub-continent, with the rise of the meritocracy, breaking down of social barriers, rising education levels and professional representation for women in the work force, and more and more men and women working side by side on a daily basis; at the same time family ties, ideas of beauty and attractiveness in a partner and cultural expectations haven’t exactly been thrown out of the window.

All these things together throw up interesting circumstances, actions and reactions among people. This is what inspires her to write, trying to see each relationship in a different way, and always having a new story to tell. When she writes, her story could be a fantasy, but will be a believable one that could happen to anyone of us and her focus, above all, is to entertain the reader. Rapid Fall is her first published book.

Thank you Adiana for agreeing to this interview.

At the outset, could you please tell the readers about yourself?

I like reading, cooking, traveling and trying out new stuff. About five years ago I made a promise to myself to try two new things every year; I have managed to keep that promise. So done things like belly dancing, learnt to play golf and tennis, went for a web designing class and toboggan riding etc, etc. This year it is going to be mahjong and swimming. It has been great fun. I absolutely dislike pseudo intellectuals and drama kings and queens. I believe change is ever constant and when you move on don’t look back.

How did you think of writing a book?

Well I love to read and have always liked to write as well. Went through the usual gamut of writing opportunities in school and college. Then did an MBA and besides reports didn’t write much else till I gave up working when my children came along. It was my publisher Indireads who asked me to send them a few story ideas and then we just took it from there.

Have you done a course on creative writing or is the talent natural?

No, I haven’t done any course but I would really like to do one as I think that would help me a lot as a writer.

What motivated you to write a full fledged novel?

Meeting up with Indireads…I guess. They asked me to send them a few story ideas and then we discussed it and Rapid Fall was born. However technically I still have to write a full fledged novel as Rapid Fall is really a novella due to it being shorter than a novel.

What were the challenges faced while writing the book?

I didn’t know anything about structure, flow, character development or anything so I had to research stuff as I went along and of course the editors could be quite ruthless. Besides there were times I was just stuck and didn’t know how to proceed. I knew where I wanted to go, just didn’t know how to get there. Vocabulary was another challenge. In our day to day life our vocabulary is so limited that even though you have access to words and phrases your short term memory has a problem retrieving them. So you know there is a better word out there but it is just floating around beyond your grasp, Which is what I found very, very frustrating. Besides due to it being a ‘novella’ you have to work within a smaller word count and that does constrain your descriptions and character development: on the plus side though it can move at a fast pace and I like that.

Is the book based on someone you know or heard of?

No, not directly. In fact I make it a point not to use friends or their experiences in my stories. When I say fiction it is completely and wholly that. Having said that I lived in a working woman’s hostel when I first came to Mumbai and the character of Sonia could have been based on many of the girls who had come to the metropolis to make a living. Also I have worked for many years in Mumbai so do know how corporates operate which gave me my background.

The cover of your book, Rapid Fall, is very nice, did you have a say in designing it?

That was wholly the publisher’s design. They showed it to me after it was done and luckily I liked it. Authors don’t get too much say in this area.

What kinds of books do you read? Who is your favourite author?

I am a very eclectic reader and go with anything that comes my way; result is my list of favourite authors keep changing. Right now I would go with Suzanne Collins.

When you pick up books to read, what is your favourite genre?

All time favourites are legal dramas and romance; recently though I seem to be veering towards fantasy too.

Which book are you currently reading?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Norwegian Wood by

And some of Jazz Singh’s romantic novels that are in the pipeline.

What is the next project that you are working on? When is the next book scheduled for release?

Working on two or three things right now, including a collection of short stories and a historical romance. When is the release scheduled? That my dear is the million dollar question…wish I knew.

Any word of wisdom for aspiring authors?

Read! Read! Read! Anything you can get your hands on. Read critically; look at their structure, their dialogue, their descriptions to get an idea of what you like and what would work for you.